Tenere 700: Camel Tail Tidy + Custom Fender Insert Incorporating OEM Reflectors to Improve Camel Tail Tidy Stiffness & Functionality

By Mike Mulligan December 11, 2020

Camel Tail Tidy vs oem

It's a fairly well sorted kit, but it can benefit from some mods to strengthen/stiffen it & improve tire spray to the passenger seat & tail area.

Camel Tail Tidy Installation Video

Camel Tail Tidy installed

Custom Fender Insert Incorporating OEM Reflectors

to Improve Camel Tail Tidy Stiffness & Functionality

For use with Camel Tail Tidy & Altrider, or Chinese copy, Luggage Rack with under fender support bracket.

The Camel Tail Tidy is a minimalist design devoid of much fender functionality that could benefit from being stiffer to resist bobbing up/dn (have seen a few reports where it flexed so much that it caught the tire & taco'd up under the fender (Camel has since updated their design adding ribs welded to the bottom surfaces to strengthen). I used 1/8" (3.3 mm) black arena board to make a custom fender insert that bolts to the 4 oem under fender attachment points of the Altrider Luggage rack or Yowling Chinese copy (see Blog Post here) under fender support cross bracket & the Camel Tail Tidy licence plate holder, effectively adding stiffness/rigidity while becoming a functional fender for that area minimizing tire spray & mud from caking up the unprotected underside & wiring & from splashing up onto the bike, luggage or a passenger. I used a heat gun for shaping the arena board.

Most tail tidies eliminate the oem rear & side reflectors, technically making the bike in violation of many vehicle lighting laws. I incorporated the oem reflectors into the design by making an aluminum bracket attached to the Camel licence plate bracket lower mount holes for the side reflectors & extending the fender insert beyond the licence plate bracket & angling it perpendicular to the ground for mounting the rear reflector. This fender insert has added stiffness & functionality to the Camel design, while incorporating the oem rear reflectors, without adversely detracting from the aesthetics of the tail tidy imho.

Version #3

Version #2 (see next section below) developed stress & fatigue cracks at bolt holes & the bend where it curved up against the underside of the Camel Tail Tidy so revised the design with bends providing clearance with the underside of the tail tidy to prevent contact & eliminate the stress/fatigue points of the older design along with a few other revisions noted below.

tapering the custom fender insert from 9" at the front to 8" at the 1st bend to better follow the profile of the Chinese copy of the Altrider luggage rack & the T7 tail/rear side panels;
altered bend locations & added a new bend just before the bend where the licence plate bracket attaches to accommodate forming the fender around the underside of the Camel Tail Tidy;
increased the angle of the bend of the last section with the rear reflector to be closer to perpendicular to the ground for improved reflector visibility & extended it by 1/2" to 3" in height & changed the profile of the outer edges for a less tapered, more rounded shape for more coverage of tire spray;
added 2 washers as spacers for the gap between the Camel licence plate backing plate & the custom fender insert at the upper licence plate bolts to destress the fender bolt holes;
relocated the side reflectors mounting bracket (similar thickness as the 2 washers noted above) from the back of the custom fender insert to between it & the Camel Tail Tidy licence plate backing plate to destress the lower fender bolt holes & provide a cleaner install & back surface of the fender insert;
after installation used a heat gun to reshape the custom fender insert bend around the underside of the Camel Tail Tidy to reduce the gap between them;
mounted the tail luggage rack underside mounting plate directly to the rack side brackets, then installed the custom fender insert (previously had the fender insert mounted 1st, then the tail rack mounting plate on the outside) for a cleaner look & easier to clean with just the fender insert visible.

Version #2

These pics are of a slightly modified version #2, as the initial version developed some spider cracking at the holes where the fender insert attached to the Yowling Luggage Rack under fender support bracket & the Camel license plate assembly after 5k km. I had forgotten to locktite the 2 bolts attaching the Camel licence plate backing plate to the tail tidy assembly & they had loosened allowing for more flex which added stress to those areas. With version #2 I sandwiched the fender insert between the Yowling Luggage rack under fender support plate & its mounting bracket (version #1 had the fender insert bolted to the outside of that plate) + I formed the arena board to mold around the turn signal mounting brackets with a heat gun, which extend downward slightly, to allow the board to sit almost flush to the Camel licence plate backing plate mount tab, which I had not done with the previous version...now all 4 upper bolts attach to the fender insert adding more rigidity. I also added washers to help reinforce the bolt/hole areas & inserted washers to fill in the small gap between the fender insert & the Camel licence plate backing plate to further minimize stress/deformation to the arena board bolt holes + added bicycle inner tube to the fender insert surfaces that interface with metal mounting points. The entire assembly is now stiffer than the previous version. I also extended & shaped the arena board extension below the licence plate where the rear reflector mounts for improved aesthetics & function.